1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an improved paper cup, and more particularly to an innovative one which could be stacked to reduce gap and save storage and transportation cost.
2. Description of Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional paper cup 1 comprises a cup body 2 and a bottom 3, which form a holding space. The common manufacturing process includes: preparing material—prepare the raw material with PE-coated paper and divide into cup body and bottom; pattern printing—print the pattern on the paper used to make cup body; die cutting—cut the paper of cup body with printed pattern into fan-shaped sheets to make paper cup; loading materials—load the fan-shaped sheets and cup bottom paper onto the table of paper cup making machine; cup body bonding—the fan-shaped sheets are heated and bonded into tubular shape via the paper cup making machine; cup bottom cutting—cut the entire cup bottom paper into round paper sheets of desired bottom size via the paper cup making machine; cup bottom bonding—heat up to bond the tubular cup body and bottom paper sheets via the machine; cup rim rolling—roll the upper edge of the paper cup out of the cup rim to complete the fabrication of a finished product.
Referring also to FIG. 1, in the configured pattern of the cup body 2 and bottom 3, the cup body 2 is designed with an annular side wall 21, and an outward folded cup rim 22 of height “h” is set on the ring edge (cup rim); the cup bottom 3 is also designed with an annular skirt 31 mated with the annular side wall 21 of the cup body 2 far away from the cup rim 22; the annular side wall 21 and annular skirt 31 where the cup body 2 is mated with the cup bottom 3 has a height of “H”, generally, “H” is higher than “h”.
According to the aforementioned paper cup, when multiple paper cups are stacked, the bottom edge of each paper cup is abutted onto the inner side of the bottom of the paper cup below; yet, as “H” is higher than “h”, there is a gap between every two cup rims when multiple paper cups are stacked, thus causing problems in stacked storage and transportation. As for the storage, space-saving could be made more effectively to pile up more paper cups in the same box or space; relatively, the cost of container transportation could also be reduced. Thus, it is necessary to design a kind of paper cup which is easier to stack without any redundant gap.
Thus, to overcome the aforementioned problems of the prior art, it would be an advancement if the art to provide an improved structure that can significantly improve the efficacy.
Therefore, the inventor has provided the present invention of practicability after deliberate design and evaluation based on years of experience in the production, development and design of related products.